Ulysses Grant
Party: Republican
April 27, 1822- July 3, 1885
Terms: (1st) 1869-1873 and (2nd) 1873-1877
Vice President: (1st) Schuyler Colfax, (2nd) Henry Wilson
America turned to the Civil War hero Ulysses Grant for the 18th presidency. During his time in office, there was just as much good as there was bad, basicially counteracting each other and leaving the perception of him as "average". Although he meant well, his skills were limited. Because of his back and forth presidency, Grant deserves a C+ for his efforts.
Grant had the right idea when it came to his goals. He wanted to re-establish the views that were placed on the Native Americans, and work towards the Peace Policy in hopes of strengthing their relationship with the U.S. This however, did not happen. It was considered a loss cause after some time working towards it. Grant had already lost this battle before he had tried to begin it, and didnt have the means or political power to help it pull through. Another goal he had while in office was to fix the United States debt, this he mentioned in his Inaugural Address. Once again, a respectable goal for any presidency, but while trying to handle the country's money problems more broke out. With the Panic of 1873 not only did Grant lose any hope for achieving his second goal, but he lost ground with the country's finicial situation as a whole. So even though he had the right idea, his lack of experience as well as circumstance worked against him.
In congress, Grant started weak, and ended semi-stronger in regards to his relationship with congress. Inexperience played a role in the beginning, as well as the fact that congress, the house, and the senate started with a Republican majority and then switched over to a stronger Democratic majority. That alone, being difficult to handle as president. Grant worked against congress for a time, vetoing an awful lot of attempted bills (94 to be specific) and not stepping up to the presidental role in the process. This is a part of the reason why their relationship was so poor. However as time went on, Grant decided he needed more power as issues began to raise in the south. That was granted by congress, an example being the Force Bill of 1870. This helped to balance out the mistakes he had made in his earlier years with them, overall ending his relationship on a fairly decent note. Once again, it could be considered "average".
The highlight of Grant's presidency would have to be the 15th amendment. With everything laid out for consideration, this was an impressive move on Grant's part. Demonstrating once again that he did have his head on straight, he worked against the negative opinion of American's to make it legal for every man to vote, regardless of race. The social tension and racisim of the era was very high still, and equalizing the voting field for any male 18 or older was a huge move, as well as an excellent decison. All the work and devotion he put through to help the African-Americans was respectable on many levels, also once it's considered just how inexperienced Grant was for this sort of position, he undertook a difficult task and succeded at it. Ultimately working towards acceptance of diversity, as well as laying the foundation for the women's suffrage, this was a necessary and difficult move. But one that was certaintly worth it, and should be remembered as such.
The biggest downfall of Grant's presidency was the immense amount of political scandals that happened just under his nose. Starting with James Fisk and Jay Gould practically causing the Panic of 1873. Their main goal to be gaining control of the gold market by running the prices up high, resulting in the crashing of business which dominoed into the panic. The Credib Mobilier was another one that really gave the country a blow. Two-faced congressmen began sneaking around and buying stock in certain businesses, runing others in the process. With other corruption such as the Whisky Ring which was the V.P stealing money, the strikes against Grant's presidency continued to grow. The worst following, where members of Grant's cabinet began taking place in all of the scandals. His trust in them was far more than they deserved, and he even attempted to stick up for his secretary when he was blamed with embezzelment of money. However he was warned against this move before it was made. In all, the amount of money lost during this time was much too high, and by having a blind-eye to it all, it was easily the worst thing that happened while the country was under Grant's care.
The strongest influence left by Grant was the ratification of the 15th amendment. Seeing as it is still in effect today, it was a good move on the president's part. Opening up doors for voting oppertunites for all African-Americans, and then later aiding the fight for the equality of women, it was hard move but an excellent decision. It also helped to ease the African-American's into more of a unity with the country, aiding them for more freedoms that would be sought after during the 20th century. If this hadn't been done, the country would have continued to grow apart, verses together.
Tying everything together, the country really didnt grow or decrease because of Grant's time in office. Although it did bring about many poor points, such as political corruption, it also brought high points for the country such as ratification of the 15th amendment. Leaving the end result almost counter-productive if you attemped to calculate what would've been in the country's best interest. Grant did an average job considering his circumstances and qualification, and deserves an average grade of a C for his time and efforts.
Degregorio, William A.. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents). 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.
Ulysses Grant
Party: Republican
April 27, 1822- July 3, 1885
Terms: (1st) 1869-1873 and (2nd) 1873-1877
Vice President: (1st) Schuyler Colfax, (2nd) Henry Wilson
America turned to the Civil War hero Ulysses Grant for the 18th presidency. During his time in office, there was just as much good as there was bad, basicially counteracting each other and leaving the perception of him as "average". Although he meant well, his skills were limited. Because of his back and forth presidency, Grant deserves a C+ for his efforts.
Grant had the right idea when it came to his goals. He wanted to re-establish the views that were placed on the Native Americans, and work towards the Peace Policy in hopes of strengthing their relationship with the U.S. This however, did not happen. It was considered a loss cause after some time working towards it. Grant had already lost this battle before he had tried to begin it, and didnt have the means or political power to help it pull through. Another goal he had while in office was to fix the United States debt, this he mentioned in his Inaugural Address. Once again, a respectable goal for any presidency, but while trying to handle the country's money problems more broke out. With the Panic of 1873 not only did Grant lose any hope for achieving his second goal, but he lost ground with the country's finicial situation as a whole. So even though he had the right idea, his lack of experience as well as circumstance worked against him.
In congress, Grant started weak, and ended semi-stronger in regards to his relationship with congress. Inexperience played a role in the beginning, as well as the fact that congress, the house, and the senate started with a Republican majority and then switched over to a stronger Democratic majority. That alone, being difficult to handle as president. Grant worked against congress for a time, vetoing an awful lot of attempted bills (94 to be specific) and not stepping up to the presidental role in the process. This is a part of the reason why their relationship was so poor. However as time went on, Grant decided he needed more power as issues began to raise in the south. That was granted by congress, an example being the Force Bill of 1870. This helped to balance out the mistakes he had made in his earlier years with them, overall ending his relationship on a fairly decent note. Once again, it could be considered "average".
The highlight of Grant's presidency would have to be the 15th amendment. With everything laid out for consideration, this was an impressive move on Grant's part. Demonstrating once again that he did have his head on straight, he worked against the negative opinion of American's to make it legal for every man to vote, regardless of race. The social tension and racisim of the era was very high still, and equalizing the voting field for any male 18 or older was a huge move, as well as an excellent decison. All the work and devotion he put through to help the African-Americans was respectable on many levels, also once it's considered just how inexperienced Grant was for this sort of position, he undertook a difficult task and succeded at it. Ultimately working towards acceptance of diversity, as well as laying the foundation for the women's suffrage, this was a necessary and difficult move. But one that was certaintly worth it, and should be remembered as such.
The biggest downfall of Grant's presidency was the immense amount of political scandals that happened just under his nose. Starting with James Fisk and Jay Gould practically causing the Panic of 1873. Their main goal to be gaining control of the gold market by running the prices up high, resulting in the crashing of business which dominoed into the panic. The Credib Mobilier was another one that really gave the country a blow. Two-faced congressmen began sneaking around and buying stock in certain businesses, runing others in the process. With other corruption such as the Whisky Ring which was the V.P stealing money, the strikes against Grant's presidency continued to grow. The worst following, where members of Grant's cabinet began taking place in all of the scandals. His trust in them was far more than they deserved, and he even attempted to stick up for his secretary when he was blamed with embezzelment of money. However he was warned against this move before it was made. In all, the amount of money lost during this time was much too high, and by having a blind-eye to it all, it was easily the worst thing that happened while the country was under Grant's care.
The strongest influence left by Grant was the ratification of the 15th amendment. Seeing as it is still in effect today, it was a good move on the president's part. Opening up doors for voting oppertunites for all African-Americans, and then later aiding the fight for the equality of women, it was hard move but an excellent decision. It also helped to ease the African-American's into more of a unity with the country, aiding them for more freedoms that would be sought after during the 20th century. If this hadn't been done, the country would have continued to grow apart, verses together.
Tying everything together, the country really didnt grow or decrease because of Grant's time in office. Although it did bring about many poor points, such as political corruption, it also brought high points for the country such as ratification of the 15th amendment. Leaving the end result almost counter-productive if you attemped to calculate what would've been in the country's best interest. Grant did an average job considering his circumstances and qualification, and deserves an average grade of a C for his time and efforts.
Works Cited
American President: Ulysses Simpson Grant." Miller Center of Public Affairs. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2010. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/grant
Degregorio, William A.. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents). 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.
List of United States Presidential Vetoes." Wikipedi, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes
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